Thursday, July 26, 2018

(PASCO, WA) – Franklin PUD stopped processing applications, effective immediately, to provide electric service for those needing high density loads (HDL). At its regularly scheduled Commission meeting on Tuesday, July 24, 2018 the Board of Commissioners unanimously imposed the application moratorium to give staff time to review impacts on utility operations and the impacts of providing future services for HDLs.

High density loads are energy-intensive and place large demands on the electric system. To date, Franklin PUD has not experienced an influx in these types of service requests, and the potential impact to the District’s electric system from servicing HDLs is uncertain at this time. However, because of the energy use required for HDLs, demands on the electric system, safety of the system, and other uncertainties, the Commission adopted the moratorium on accepting any new or altered electric service applications for HDLs, effective immediately. The moratorium will not apply to existing approved applications that have paid all applicable fees.

High density loads have impacts on an electric system that are different from typical residential and commercial customers. Because of this, Franklin PUD must ensure that distribution facilities are adequate to alleviate any potential safety and reliability risk for Franklin PUD and its customers.

By approving the moratorium, this will allow staff time to evaluate a proper rate structure, cost recovery, electric system assessment, safety and reliability impacts, as well as the business stability of HDLs. Franklin PUD staff will bring the findings of this research to a later Commission meeting.

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Board members of the Utilities Technology Council are swarming
Capitol Hill today to press an energy issue flying far below the Beltway radar:
the energy needs for radio frequency spectrum. That bandwidth is particularly
crucial during grid outages when crews need to coordinate restoration and is
expected to become an increasingly stressful subject as more wireless smart
meters and sensors are added to the electric grid. The FCC has primary
jurisdiction on how portions of spectrum are doled out, and according to UTC
CEO Joy Ditto, the agency hasn't been sympathetic to the communication needs of
utilities and other power generators.

"They don't really
differentiate between us and
Joe's pizza place down the street," she told ME. "That's not the way
the rest of the government perceives us," she said, given the emphasis the
White House and the departments of Energy and Homeland Security have put on
protecting critical infrastructure like the electric grid. "Yet, when it
comes to this crucial component of our communications systems, we're not
treated any differently than anyone else." Federal utilities like the
Energy Department's power marketing administrations and the Tennessee Valley
Authority are given some priority.

One of the industry's big
concerns isn't so much that wireless
interference will trigger an emergency so much as it could make some of those
fancy sensors designed to keep the system operating reliably from sending data
at critical times. "You're lacking situational awareness, so if you're lacking
something on your system you may not see it," she said. So, during the
30-40 meetings the trade group has lined up with congressional offices, their
critical request is that FERC and the FCC talk more often, pursue a memorandum
of understanding between the two regulators, and perhaps set up joint technical
conferences, Ditto said.

According to the Lewis County 911 Center, the first 911 call
came in at 5:36 AM reporting an incident at Mossyrock Dam and a person
suffering fractures. The Chronicle reports at 5:50 AM the Lewis County Tactical
Rescue Team was dispatched to the site. The Chehalis Fire Department is the
lead agency for the team.

Chehalis Fire Chief Ken Cardinale reported team members used
a rope rescue system to rescue the victim, who reportedly had multiple broken
bones.

Friday, July 13, 2018

(TONOPAH,
NV) – GOPRep. John Shimkus will
educate another dozen lawmakers on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
repository this weekend via a field trip to the Nevada site. He told ME
"the purpose of the visit is to walk the grounds and get an appreciation
of the site" and that most of the lawmakers coming along have never been.
Shimkus said he expected Mark Menezes, undersecretary of Energy, to participate
along with other DOE officials.

Shimkus invited two Nevada Democrats —
Reps. Jacky Rosen and Dina Titus — to
participate in the visit after another, Rep. Ruben Kihuen, was unable
to make his schedule work. "Unfortunately, his schedule will no longer
enable him to tour the facility located in his congressional district,"
Shimkus wrote in a letter to Titus.
She told ME in a statement that she has visited the site before. Rosen slammed
Shimkus' visit as "an obvious political stunt" and vowed not to
participate. "I am not interested in giving legitimacy to his
taxpayer-funded junket," Rosen said in a statement to ME. Kihuen's office
did not respond to a request for comment.

A local group opposed to the project, the
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, wanted to attend but Shimkus said "logistical issues"
prevent its participation.

The approps fight: Shimkus
said he expects the issue to be a live one as the House and Senate work out
differences between their versions of the "minibus" that includes the
energy and water title. The House's bill included $267.7 million for the
project, while the Senate's didn't offer a penny. But Shimkus said House
Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen and
Rep. Mike Simpson, who leads
the subcommittee responsible for the title, would fight for the Yucca funding.
"They're supportive of our mark," Shimkus said.

Simpson added there was "nothing sinister" in the postponement of the
conference committee's first scheduled meeting on the minibus Thursday and said
that wrapping up negotiations by August is still "our goal."
"But it doesn't have to be before August. Obviously, we have until Oct. 1.
We'd like to get it done as soon as possible, but there are some issues in all
parts of it," he said. More on the battle over Veterans funding that
spurred the 11th-hour postponement here.

The House passed the Strengthening Fishing Communities and
Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act by a 222-193 vote.

Eliminates ‘unscientific’ conservation limits: The bill
would open up U.S. coastal waters to more fishing by reducing "unscientific"
conservation limits and quotas on the amount of fish caught annually.

The bill "eliminates unscientific timeframes to rebuild
fish stocks," which "unnecessarily restrict access to
fisheries," according to a summary of the bill.

Reauthorizes the fisheries law: The bill introduced by Rep.
Don Young, R-Alaska, reauthorizes, while modernizing, the Magnuson-Stevens Act,
which is the primary law governing marine fisheries management in U.S. federal
waters.

The bill provides greater regional flexibility, tailored
management practices, and improved data collection for all U.S. federal
fisheries off the coasts of most ocean-adjoining states.

Friday, July 6, 2018

(VANCOUVER, WA) – The
Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA) Board of Trustees has named Scott
Egbert of Wells Rural Electric Association (Wells, Nev.) as the 2018-2019 NWPPA
Board of Trustees president; Egbert will succeed Idaho Falls Power’s Jackie
Flowers, who accepted the position of director of utilities at Tacoma
Utilities. Egbert’s term as board president begins on July 21.

The board also announced the
following officers:

First Vice President Ron
Holmes of Wasco Electric Cooperative (The Dalles, Ore.)

About NWPPA: The Northwest Public Power Association is an
international association representing and serving over 150 customer-owned,
locally controlled utilities in the Western U.S. and Canada. The Association
also serves approximately 300 associate members across the U.S. and Canada who
are allied with the electric utility industry. For more information, visit: www.nwppa.org, www.facebook.com/NWPPAssoc, or www.Twitter.com/NWPPAssoc.

Monday, July 2, 2018

(HELENA, MT) – Governor Steve
Bullock and the Bonneville Power Administration today released the Montana
Renewables Development Action Plan, which identifies specific actions intended
to promote the further development of renewable energy projects in Montana and
improve the ability of West Coast markets to access that energy.

“We brought together
stakeholders from diverse interests to seek common understanding on very
complex issues – and to find solutions that work,” said Governor Bullock. “With
this effort, we’re boosting the opportunities for more energy development in
Montana and making Montana wind more attractive for West Coast buyers, all to
create good-paying jobs and economic opportunity for Montanans.”

The report supports the
conclusion that Montana has an opportunity to play a significant role in energy
markets by growing its renewable resource base. The state currently has more
than 700 megawatts of installed wind capacity, with the potential to develop
significantly more wind resources. Even more encouraging is the report’s
finding that there is existing capacity to transmit that power to the
Northwest.

“It was a pleasure to work
with Governor Bullock and many other partners from across the region during
this process,” said Elliot Mainzer, BPA Administrator. “Through collaboration,
hard work and a little bit of active listening, we identified existing
short-term opportunities and some longer-term priorities that should enable the
additional development of renewable energy in Montana to complement existing
hydropower and other renewable generation across the Pacific Northwest. I am
excited and committed to working with the other participants in this process to
deliver on the plan's recommendations.”

Efforts to compile the report
began several months ago when Mainzer and Bullock invited a diverse group of
stakeholders to take a collaborative look at renewable energy challenges and
opportunities in Montana. The group, which included public and private
utilities, regulators, advocates, and renewable resource developers, focused
their efforts on producing a sustainable long-term strategy to develop new
renewable energy resources in Montana. The work addressed issues including
commercial needs, policies, planning and operational issues. This inclusive
approach to collaboration and problem-solving allowed the group to identify
solutions that satisfy the region’s needs.

“We’ve always known that
Montana had the most energetic wind resource in the region. This collaborative
process reveals that existing transmission — with modest investments — can
deliver considerable amounts of renewable energy to West Coast utilities,” said
Rachel Shimshak, executive director of Renewable Northwest and a member of the
Task Force Steering Committee. “This is great news for customers, the
environment, and Montana’s rural economic vitality. Washington and Oregon
utilities should be confident that they can cost-effectively deliver Montana
wind to their customers."

The Action Plan identifies 18
actions that, if taken, would remove barriers to the development and export of
Montana renewable resources. Highlighted actions include:

Broad recognition
and agreement that the Colstrip transmission network is not only important to
local Northwestern Energy needs, but vital to future renewable energy
development in Eastern Montana. The Colstrip owners and BPA have committed to
reviewing the agreements that govern the delivery of Colstrip power and to look
at modernizing them to address today’s energy challenges and opportunities.

There is a
considerable amount of transmission capacity available now to move renewable
energy out of Montana, and over time and with a few relatively cost-effective
actions, that available capacity is expected to grow significantly as Colstrip
units 1 and 2 retire.

Many believed
that technical limitations of the transmission system would significantly limit
the opportunity for Montana renewables to move to west coast markets. The
report and underlying analyses shows that these concerns are not significant
barriers.

BPA has committed to track
progress on the action items and file progress reports with committee members
and interested parties.

The Action Plan marks another
step in Governor Bullock’s Energy Blueprint to determine the state’s energy
future through a balanced and responsible plan with all sectors of the energy
industry. Through the blueprint, Governor Bullock has committed to working with
the Colstrip community to ensure they remain a viable part of the energy
future, in addition to developing potential for wind and solar power and
harnessing new technology for carbon capture. Since the release of the
blueprint in 2016, Montana has quadrupled its solar production.

The Montana Renewables
Development Action Plan can be found here: www.bpa.gov/goto/MontanaRenewablesDevelopmentActionPlan

(IDAHO FALLS, ID) -- The
Idaho Falls City Council voted unanimously to appoint Bear Prairie as the new
General Manager of Idaho Falls Power during the June 28th city council meeting.

Prairie has worked for Idaho Falls Power since 2010 where he
has served as the Assistant General Manager. With more than 20 years of
experience in the energy industry, Prairie started his career in energy at the
Idaho Power Company in Boise.He has
extensive experience and expertise in commodity trading and management of a broad
range of energy products.

“As I examined the range available options for filling the
vacancy, a few things quickly became clear to me,” said Mayor Rebecca
Casper.“First and perhaps foremost, in
his role as Assistant General Manager for IFP, Mr. Prairie has been
professionally prepared to step in and lead the utility. He is eminently
qualified to lead any energy utility in the county and we are very fortunate
that he has chosen to continue his career here with us.”

In his role as Assistant General Manager, Prairie helped
manage the daily operation of Idaho Falls Power’s four hydroelectric dams, 450
miles of distribution lines and service to over 28,000 customers including a fiber
optic communication business.He was
also responsible for the utility’s long rage power supply planning, power
operations, resource development and risk management.

“I am excited for the opportunity to work with City
leadership and the community to continue Idaho Falls Power’s legacy of
delivering reliable and cost effective services to our City,” said
Prairie.“Surrounded by the dedicated
staff that works through all conditions to serve our customers, I see many
bright days ahead.”

With his appointment, Prairie, who will make an annual
salary of $225,000, will take over control of Idaho Falls Power from current
General Manger, Jackie Flowers, who is departing to assume leadership of Tacoma
Public Utilities in Washington.Her last
day with Idaho Falls Power will be July 20, 2018.

“I am humbled to be chosen to fill Jackie’s shoes. She has
provided great leadership to the team and vision to the utility,” Prairie
said.“I plan to continue to listen to
the community, as she did, so we are well positioned to continue delivering
services.”

(CHEHALIS, WA) -- Two people were arrested late Friday in
the case of a missing teen from Randle.

According to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, State Patrol
troopers contacted the two during a traffic stop on Interstate 90 near
Ellensburg.

Lewis County deputies traveled to Ellensburg and interviewed
the two brothers, 16-year old Benito S. Marquez and 21-year old Jonathan R,
Adamson. Based on the interviews, deputies arrested Marquez and Adamson on
suspicion of second degree murder in the death of Benjamin Eastman III. They
were returned to Lewis County.

Marquez was booked into Lewis County Juvenile Detention and
Adamson into the Lewis County Jail.

About Me

Joel Myer works at an electrical utility in Washington State.
Prior to his current employment, he worked for nine years at the City of Shelton as Special Projects Coordinator.
In 1992, Joel served a three-month term as an appointed Mason County Commissioner. As far as it is known, he still holds the record for the shortest term for a county commissioner in Washington State.
From 1991 through 1992 Joel worked with Washington State University Cooperative Extension, where he conducted an extensive study of the special forest products industry and its economic value to the Pacific Northwest.
From 1980 to 1991 he was News Director at KMAS Radio in Shelton.
Joel is a 1991 graduate of the Evergreen State College, where his focus of study was economics.
Joel Myer is one of the 2018 award winners, Foundation for Water & Energy Education Haiku Contest.
He has been teaching himself to play the ukulele (with limited success) since 2003.